(Written several months ago - may need updating)
Fuel costs the average driver about a dime per ten miles; a good gas/electric hybrid lowers that to about a nickel. Powering an all-electric car is even cheaper (1). The reverse is true for purchase price. All-electric cars are the most expensive and gasoline-powered ones the cheapest.
Hybrids are generally believed to be important energy savers, which is true if they are compared with gas guzzlers. However comparing the same make and model in both standard and hybrid versions reveals a different story. On average, hybrids cost about $6,500 more than standard versions and only get about ten mpg greater mileage (2). I made some rough calculations and found that the price of gas would have to roughly double to make a hybrid purchase worthwhile economically. With gasoline prices soaring (3) and electricity prices increasing only moderately (4), hybrids should become less of an economic burden. Hybrids also have the advantage over all other new car concepts, in that they can be fueled at any gas station. The gas tank can also be modified to take ethanol blends. There is some demand for them and about there are about 600,000 hybrids on the road now (5).
All-electric cars are not yet commercially available, except in golf-cart size. Conversion kits for full-size vehicles cost around $15-20,000, about half of that price if you install one yourself (6). Even at these prices, the break-even price on gasoline costs is somewhat less than for hybrids. All-electrics are also both the most energy-efficient auto technology and the quietest (7). Because all-electric cars can only go about 100 miles between charges, they can find use as ‘urban cars’, which take advantage of the fact that most cars travel only 40 miles on a typical day and can be recharged after the driver comes home at night.
Both classes of electric car will benefit from advances in battery technology to improve the range of all-electrics and to cut down the time needed to charge them. Plug-in hybrids (8), which are receiving increased attention, suffer from the same problems.
REFERENCES
(1) "Crunching the Numbers on Alternative Fuels", Popular Mechanics, May 2006 [2-42]
(2) Yahoo Autos
(3) Energy Information Administration Petroleum Navigator
(4) Energy Information Administration Average Retail Prices of
Electricity
(5) a. R.L.Polk News Index
b. R.L.Polk News Archive
(6) Electric Auto Association
(7) Michelin Challenge Bibendum, Paris 2006
(8) Plug-in Hybrids <www.sheryboschert.com/PowerPoints/florida.ppt.htm>
* Hydrogen-powered cars are sometimes considered electric vehicles. Because of their special problems, I consider them a separate class.
No comments:
Post a Comment